Dreams and Nightmares
by yomiu
Summary: When Tsuna returns from Italy back to Japan, he gives Hibari a little visit. A strange occurance of events happen in strange dreams...do they foretell anything in the future? Are they in danger? Will they unravel the mystery behind these dreams?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Tsuna got off the plane. He was finally in Japan again. He couldn't wait to visit all his old friends and his relatives, but on top of his list, he wanted to make sure he reached one very important place first. He had to deal with a very important matter with a special person, one that he hadn't seen in a long time. Once Tsuna got out of the airport, he called a taxi. "To Namimori, please." After he said those words, the driver pressed his foot on the wheel and they were off. _I'm finally going to see my old home again. There are only just a few reasons why I've come here now, and not 6 years ago, when I should have. This morning, when Mom told me about the news that Namimori high closed down, I wanted to go see it for myself. You never know when mom is just imagining things._ After thinking for quite a while, Tsuna drifted off to sleep.

"Hey, mister, we're here." The taxi driver spoke. Tsuna yawned, rubbed his eyes then went fumbling around his case for his wallet. "Here's the money." Tsuna handed over the taxi fair and prepared to go out the door, smiling at the driver. The driver smiled back, nodded his cap, then drove away once Tsuna got out. It was a clear day. In the distance of the sun, there, the destination he wanted to go. Stepping forward, Tsuna lifted his face to view the tall yellow brick building in front of him. Namimori High.

"I'm here at last. It's been so long; I wonder how much has changed."

Stepping though the open gate and into school grounds, the brunet looked around. As usual, the ground was dirty as ever. The nearby plants and bushes needed trimming too. As Tsuna gazed around his old school, he had one thing in mind. Shaking his head, he walked towards the entrance leading inside the school. Examining the door while walking, Tsuna saw a huge hole, smack in the middle of the door. He shook his head while laughing softly. _So the locked doors wouldn't even stop him, huh?_ He slipped through the hole, glad that _he _wasn't the one to break it. _Imagine the trouble it would cause._ He stepped through the locker room. Going up the stairs, Tsuna wondered where he was going to find him. Peering round the empty hallways, Tsuna sighed. The place used to be so lively before the school closed down. Now it felt like a haunted building.

Tsuna kept walking up the stairs. These staircases seemed to go on forever. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Tsuna slowly came up to the metal door, behind it the entrance to the roof where he _knew_ he would find him. Slowly opening the door, he could hear the rust forming on the door hinges. Tsuna had to shove his shoulder at the door to open it. He would definitely come back to oil this door. Finally, with a few quick shoves, he got the door to open. Stepping out to the roof, he felt a small breeze whip around his body, as if it was dancing. As Tsuna peered all around the roof, he saw a figure. It was him. As Tsuna stepped up to approach him, he was asleep. He looked so cold, even in the sun, his frown permanently etched on his face. It really was him. After 6 years. There he was. Hibari.

Tsuna gazed upon his cold, yet peaceful expression before reaching into his pocket. He took out a small envelope, and gently slipped it underneath Hibari's hand.

"Happy Birthday, Hibari-san."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>BEFORE YOU SAY _ANYTHING, _I _DO _KNOW THAT HIBARI'S BIRTHDAY IS LONG OVER!

But besides that, I hope you enjoy the prologue. Sorry if i overuse words so much...orz

I am working on chapter 1 now, and...I hope you guys will read it. xD (even though you might not want to read my bad writing...)

Please review, thanks for viewing!


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hibari was walking around in Namimori High. For some reason, the corridors seemed darker than before. Perhaps the light from the sun was being blocked? But there was nothing covering the windows. The windows seemed normal, but why were the corridors so dark? _Still, even if the light is abnormal, it seems calming._ Peering around with his monotone face and glaring eyes, he went to the nearest classroom and opened the door. It was a little strange for it to be that quiet. Hibari felt a little tense. The silence seemed overwhelming. He prepared to slide open the door, wondering what was on the other side. It could be the most unexpected thing, so he had to be careful. He couldn't stand it that he was acting so cowardly from just opening a door, so taking all his strength, he slammed the door open with all his might. Cautiously peering into the classroom, Hibari saw everyone at their desks. Only they were all lying on their desks, as if they were sleeping. It seemed a little too weird. Something was wrong.

Hibari walked over to the teacher, and nudged her shoulder. She seemed lifeless. Hibari grunted in response. _There isn't anything else for me to do here. I should enjoy the silence while I can. _He turned around, preparing to go back through the door, but then stopped. He thought he had heard a small noise. Perhaps he should have checked to see if any of the other students were conscious. But the pang of tension came back. Something around here felt really wrong. Hibari glared at the backs of all the dead-like students, as if he was magically reviving them. _Though if they were alive, I would definitely bite them to death._ Taking one last stare, he thought he saw one of the students twitching slightly. Hibari's eyes widened as he saw one of the students groan and suddenly cough out a mass of blood right on the desk. _At least the sight of blood fills my enjoyment; maybe I'll stay a while and watch that guy suffer._ Smirking as he leaned against the wall, Hibari enjoyed the show. He carried on watching with sadistic joy as that poor student kept coughing out blood. Then suddenly, he stopped, and slumped back into his seat, unconscious once again. Hibari's face turned into a frown. If there wasn't a show to watch, he might as well leave. Pushing himself off the wall and firm onto his feet, he began to walk out of the classroom. That is…until he heard a groan. Widening his eyes in surprise, he turned around. The same person was getting out of his chair. Though something seemed oddly weird about him; he still seemed lifeless, even if he was moving, and wasn't looking where he was going, which was probably the reason for crashing into the student next to him. Hibari started backing away slowly. _If this guy was coughing out blood earlier…shouldn't he still be unconscious? Or even dead?_

Reaching into his jacket to grab his tonfas, he prepared to bite this guy to death. Perhaps this _guy _wasn't even human anymore. He had never seen anything like it. This seemed out of a movie. Judging from all the horror movies Hibari had watched before, he would have immediately thought this guy was a zombie. _A zombie? Those don't exist. It would be the last thing I would assume this creature would be. Nonetheless, I'm going to smash this guy up._ Raising one arm, Hibari prepared to engage himself in a range of attacks, smashing the creature's sides. Blood sprayed everywhere. Yes, Hibari did love the sight of the crimson liquid flowing from one's body. He settled for one strong blow to the creature's stomach, which sent it flying to the classroom wall with a sickening crack. Wiping the sprayed blood from his face, he smirked with delight. It had been a while since he beat someone up. When Hibari began to turn and finally leave the wretched classroom, he heard the same groan from that same creature. His eyes widened in shock. _This is impossible. I should have knocked him right out. Unless…I'm living in hell…_

Turning to face the disgusting creature once again, he prepared his tonfas to smash it up again. That would teach it. But Hibari turned a little too slowly. The creatures face was right in front of Hibari's face, jaws unhinged and wide open, like it was going to literally bite him. Luckily, with his quick reflexes, Hibari managed to dodge the bite so the creature chomped on nothing but air. Making a grunt, Hibari prevented himself from crashing into the wall, but making a loud scraping sound with one of his tonfas on the wall, and made a small dent in the process. The creature turned its head in Hibari's way, and slowly shuffled forwards, trying to make another bite. Hibari frowned in annoyance. Instead of attacking, he decided to test something. Grabbing the nearest person by the collar of the shirt, he threw him at the creature. The creature looked down, and then bent down to bite the thrown student. The sight was horrifying. The creature bit down hard on the flesh, teeth like razors when they at first glance seemed perfectly normal, and tore at the student's body. The pain seemed like an alarm, and at once the student that Hibari threw started screaming his head off. Reaching out an arm with his last strength to Hibari, he whispered: "Please…help me…I don't want to die…" Hibari merely glanced back; he had no time for useless herbivores. Once he had fallen from those painful bites, the creature started to move on, closer to Hibari. With a glance of his eye, Hibari saw the same twitch that he saw with the creature that was closing in on him. _There's no mistake. It's the same._ Then that body that was once looked to be lifeless began to move in that same monotone movement that the first creature did. It would definitely be safe to assume that they really were, in fact, zombies.

Now, the only thing left to do was to find out how to destroy them before the school was overtaken by those zombies. Engaging in tonfa-to-face combat, he smashed one of the zombies' jaw right out. After a groan and a sigh, that zombie fell to the ground. After smashing the other zombies' head in, Hibari panted and wiped the blood from his tonfas onto the wall. _Judging by this, they should die from a blow to the head. _Just to be safe, he grabbed a chair and slashed both the zombies to pieces. Bits of rotten flesh and blood flew everywhere. Smirking with satisfaction, Hibari felt glad that he had managed to protect the school from such disgusting things. They weren't even qualified to be counted as herbivores anymore. Something to an even lower rank-creatures. From the outside of the classroom, he heard banging on the classroom door. Something else…was lurking in the hallway.

Hibari felt tense. He walked over to the door; put his hand on the handle, and slid the door open slowly. Once he realized what was behind the door, Hibari jumped behind in surprise. More zombies. _How could there be more? Unless…I'm too late to destroy them all. The school might be already overrun by these creatures._ Once the door burst open with brutal force, the zombies began pouring in the classroom. They moved in a huge group, and Hibari could bet they were all clogging the hallways too. He began to move towards the zombies with full force, smashing as many heads he could while sub-consciously dodging all their attacks. After beating one head then another, more and more zombies began to pour in the room. It was like they were never going to get all destroyed. _Maybe I should just try to smash as many creatures as I can; then I'll take my chances and find a way to get help. I don't want my memories to be clogged with creatures. _After a while of smashing, Hibari felt his breathing starting to speed up. There was no time to be tired now, he had to survive and protect the school.

Once the first batch of zombies fell to the ground, Hibari opened a window and tried clearing the room as quickly as possible. Once he was done with the bit of clearing, he realized something seemed different about the classroom than earlier. All the students and the teacher were gone. _Where did they go all of a sudden? This is getting way too strange…_Hibari began to think. Could the reason for the sudden apocalypse be because of a disease? An experiment gone wrong? He then realized that now was not the time to think. Hibari had to get to higher ground. Peering out the window, he saw the thick branch of a tree stretching towards the building. With a smirk spread across his face, Hibari realized he could escape to the roof. Jumping out the window, he landed on the branch with cat-like grace. He clambered over the window ledges, and soon got to the top of the building; the roof.

Hibari walked over to the nearest corner, sat, and patiently waited. What else was he supposed to do? He had to protect the school, after all. It was one of his most precious memories. Now, it was infested with these sickening creatures. Determined, he waited. And waited. And waited. _Where are they? They should be able to get here by now…_A sudden shock went to his head. _What if they ventured out the school? But that wouldn't be possible the gate was already locked and closed tight. There would be no way for them…to…_Hibari's eyes widened with fear as he looked across from the roof. The gate…it was destroyed.

Hibari quickly ran through the school downstairs, and to the gate. It was completely mangled, even the gate burst off its hinges. _How is this possible? What's going to happen now?_ His heart was clogged with fear. It was really unlike him to feel that way. He clutched his hair in rage. Sure, he hated crowds and he hated people, but what would happen if this whole town was covered with zombies? They would spread…and…he would be the only survivor. There had to be some more people who could fend off the zombies by themselves, there had to. He just needed to find them. Setting off from the school, he dashed off into town. Just as he went around a corner, he saw a boy being cornered by a group of zombies. A group of zombies that looked very hungry for blood. Grunting, Hibari made up his mind to try and help the boy, but not because he was a nice person, but because he hated that he was the one who let this happen. He ran in for attack. In a bloody flash, the group of zombies fell to the ground. Holding out a hand to the snivelling boy, he realized that it wasn't _just _a boy; it was Tsuna.

Tsuna stopped snivelling when he realized the zombies were gone, and looked up to see the face of his savoir.

"HI-HIIIIIIEEEE! HIBARI-SAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Tsuna shrieked.

Hibari merely glared at him with his cold eyes which sent Tsuna into a state of fear.

"I came to save you." Hibari spoke with that expressionless tone.

"B-But…why?" Tsuna squeaked as he shivered from that cold glare.

"Enough questions, you're coming with me. We have to find the other survivors. This is a game of survival now." Hibari smirked, and licked his lips, feeling content that he would be able to see more blood spill to the ground as he fought his way to victory. He clutched Tsuna's hand while dragging him out of the corner to look for more people-people that were still alive. Tsuna's face quickly felt hot, clearly embarrassed from Hibari's sudden action.

The two boys ran and ran. They searched the nearest apartments, but all they found were zombies and the people being eaten. Tsuna peered around, his face still a small shade of pink. Tsuna wondered what had happened, he was just taking a walk with a friend, and suddenly these zombies came from nowhere. His friend tried protecting Tsuna with all his strength. Now, he was gone. Tsuna bit his lip and tears spilled from his cheeks. His body shook from sobbing, and Hibari turned to face him.

"Stop that. If you cry, I'll leave you here by yourself," Hibari spoke in his toneless voice. "Or would you rather me to bite you to death so you don't have to suffer being bitten?"

Tsuna shuddered. "I-I'll stop crying."

Still snivelling slightly, Tsuna wiped his tears, and tried to put on a determined face. Hibari turned away, smirking slightly. Hibari started walking out the building, Tsuna silently following close behind. With a sudden glance, Hibari disappeared from Tsuna's sight and appeared behind him. He heard a sickening crack as Hibari split the head of an approaching zombie. Tsuna was shocked, his body shaking with fright. Hibari then made a gesture with his finger, which meant for Tsuna to come over to him. The shaking boy obediently followed.

After searching more buildings, they still found nothing. Tsuna glanced at Hibari. _He looks like he's ready to give up…poor Hibari-san, finding no one but me, who is completely useless to him…_Once Hibari noticed Tsuna was staring at him, Tsuna quickly looked away, a red shade of colour forming on his face once again. After a second of glaring, Hibari started to move away to a nearby bench. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes and sat down. _What should I do now? If I can't find any other survivors, the whole thing would be my fault._ Slowly looking up from the bench, he saw Tsuna looking very worried at him. When Tsuna realized Hibari was glaring at him, he quickly jumped back in surprise. _I wonder what this little herbivore is thinking about me…for once I'm looking for people…perhaps looking for the answer behind the creatures could be easier._ Sighing and getting off the bench, Hibari turned to glare at Tsuna. Tsuna took that glare as a gesture to follow him, so he began shuffling behind Hibari, tripping while doing so. Hibari grunted in annoyance, then grabbed Tsuna's hand and pulled him off the floor.

"Look, I don't have time for your clumsiness, herbivore. I need answers." Hibari spat.

Once Tsuna was on his feet once again, he felt a little hurt. _Hibari-san seemed so nice when he saved me…and what does he mean by 'answers'? Maybe it's something to do with the zombies? But…now that I think about it, I remember seeing a green cloud float over somewhere…maybe there's still some evidence? I'll tell Hibari-san about it._

"U-um...Hibari-san? I-I…n-ne-"Tsuna began to stammer. Tsuna stopped short as he saw a dark expression coming from Hibari.

"You had something to tell me? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Hibari hissed.

"W-well…I didn't know what you were doing so…"Tsuna stammered. "Anyway, before the zombies came and attacked us, around the morning, when I woke up…I saw…something strange…"

"Could you…elaborate?" Hibari quietly asked. He emphasized on the last word.

"Well…it looked kind of like…a cloud of light yellow-green gas. It was heading over that way." Tsuna felt more determined when he pointed over to the direction of Namimori High.

"So that's how it is…" Hibari whispered. _If that's the case, why am I still not becoming a zombie?_

Suddenly, Hibari felt tense. Something…inside his body…was moving. The blood flow seemed to be in a faster pace than normal. A bad feeling was stirring. Hibari could feel his heart pumping faster. He must have been looking very tense, because Tsuna was staring at him with a frightened look. It would be a waste to let his body end this way if he was diseased too. He had to find an antidote before it was too late.

"Come." Hibari tried to keep his voice steady, but he couldn't stop the fact that he was still tense.

Tsuna obediently followed, wondering where they were going. As he realised that Hibari was heading over to a bookstore, Tsuna kept wondering what he was about to do. As they entered, Hibari peered around with caution, being careful to try and not run into any zombies as he tried to find information. Going over and looking through the book directory, he searched for any books with information to do with zombies. He wrote some titles and authors down on a piece of paper, and handed the paper over to Tsuna.

"Search for these books. Now." He demanded.

Tsuna immediately took the paper and ran off to search. There were countless huge bookshelves stacked in neat rows, all of the shelves filled with multicoloured books. _Everything is so neat_, Tsuna thought. Looking at the paper and pointing with his finger, he found one of the books on the list. After a while, he found most of the books. Only one was left to find. It was called, _How to survive an apocalypse_. _That would surely help Hibari-san. He always knows what to find._ Tsuna smiled. The author's surname was starting with a Z, so Tsuna started walking towards the very last bookshelf at the end of the store. He remembered that there used to be a small kids section at the back, and his mother would take him there when he was small. Once he reached near the end, he peered round the back of the last bookshelf. He froze on the spot. There were a couple of zombies grouped around a bunch of little kids.

"No! Leave them alone!' Tsuna picked up some books and threw them at the zombies. The zombies left those kids alone, but started to shuffle towards Tsuna.

"HI-HIIEEEEEEEE! NO! S-STAY AWAY!" Tsuna was about to be cornered into the wall. "H-HELP!" Tsuna cried as the kids began to run away. _How could they leave me alone when I saved them? What will happen to me now?_

Tsuna shielded his face with his hands and closed his eyes as the zombies began to close in, preventing Tsuna from getting out in any way besides with immense force, which he didn't have. When one of the zombies was ready to attack Tsuna with its razor sharp teeth, there was a whacking noise and then a soft _plop._ Slowly opening one eye, Tsuna saw Hibari. Standing and wiping his cheek, Hibari turned his head to face Tsuna.

"I thought I could trust you to be careful. Anyone who would do something as reckless as that would always be qualified as a herbivore." Glaring once more, Hibari started to slowly walk a few steps, and then stopped suddenly. Turning once more, he spoke. "Now hurry and find those books. I need the information."

Tsuna felt dazed. Hibari had saved him not once – but twice already from those wretched zombies. _I...I will do my best to repay Hibari-san!_ And with that, Tsuna went over to the last shelf and found the last book on the list. He then piled all the books on the list on top of another, and started carrying them over back to where Hibari was. It was a struggle, but somehow Tsuna managed to carry everything without stopping for another trip. Once he was in Hibari's sight, he dropped the books near his feet.

"H-Hibari-san…I got the books." Tsuna stammered.

"Hn? Oh." Hibari reached out to grab the first book in the pile. He took a look at the first page, and followed on to throwing the book at a nearby shelf, causing it to break. A look of shock crept onto Tsuna's face. _Hibari-san is so strong…I wish I wasn't as useless and weak…_

"I-is there anything else I can do for you, Hibari-san?" Tsuna spoke with a little more confidence this time."

"No. Nothing else. Just sit over there and don't disturb me."

Tsuna obediently walked over and sat in the area that Hibari pointed to, and picked up the book that was thrown from earlier on. Looking at the cover, Tsuna saw a picture of a zombie at the front with a bloody font above it saying: _The Apocalypse. _Proceeding to open the book, Tsuna began to read. While he was reading, he thought. _What was with that gas? Why was Hibari-san so worked up about it when I told him? I hope we get to find answers soon…I'm starting to worry that the two of us are the only ones alive in this world now…Just the two of us…_Once Tsuna snapped back into reality, he saw that he was on a chapter that was named: _The Cause_ – There _had_ to be relevant information in here! Reading a few paragraphs, he came across the words 'gas' and 'disease'. Maybe these were key words? Tsuna had to ask Hibari about this.

"Hibari-san! Look at this!" Tsuna cried out.

"Hn? I thought I told you to be quiet."

"B-But…It's important!"

"Hn." Hibari grunted as he reached out and snatched the book from Tsuna's fingers. Once he saw the chapter title, he started to skim through the chapter frantically. Thinking to himself, Hibari started to leave Tsuna alone as he got engrossed in the chapter. Widening his eyes in surprise, Hibari saw _that_ paragraph. It must be the secrets revealed. _Researching… cloud of gas…experiment? This sounds a lot like my theory and Tsuna's little observation. Maybe these other books have more information on this?_ Once he went to look through the other pile of books, Tsuna looked dazedly at Hibari. _Is this information really that important to him? _Tsuna thought for a while. It felt like he forgot about something he was supposed to tell Hibari…but he didn't know _what_ exactly. There was something else behind the sudden apocalypse? _Oh! Right! That's it! The other thing…I heard an explosion coming from a nearby research facility…and the green gas coming out from it! Then people breathed in the gas and started becoming those zombies! I have to tell Hibari-san now!_ Turning back to speak to Hibari, Tsuna tried to grab his attention, since Hibari looked so engrossed in finding information. Finally, the boy tapped Hibari's shoulder. Shooting Tsuna a cold glare, Hibari gritted his teeth.

"What is it that you want now, herbivore? I'm busy." Hibari spat.

"I-I just forgot to tell you one thing. There was a research lab and suddenl-" Tsuna paused. Something was inside his lungs. He couldn't breathe. Clutching his throat, he started coughing violently. Once he stopped coughing, Hibari seemed to be directly looking at Tsuna's eyes. He seemed to be a little tense. Regardless, Tsuna still jumped back in surprise, a surge of red forming on his cheeks once more. Finally, breaking the silence, Tsuna heard Hibari speak.

"Are…you alright?" He whispered. _Why am I using that tone? I don't feel sympathy for any type of herbivore._

"I-I think so." Tsuna gulped. He blushed again when he realised Hibari was reaching out to his face. Wiping something off, Tsuna hoped that Hibari didn't realise that his face was all hot.

"There was drool on your face."

Tsuna touched his cheek. _E-eh? Maybe the drool came out when I was coughing…I wonder why I suddenly felt that._ Hibari still seemed to be looking at Tsuna. His eyes seemed to be wandering, searching for something on Tsuna. Suddenly, his hand lashed out to grab Tsuna's left wrist. Squeezing Tsuna's thumb softly, Tsuna let out a little whimper.

"I knew it. A zombie bit you, didn't it." He spoke calmer now, but something about him told Tsuna that he was a little worried.

"Um…I swear I was going to tell you this soon, Hibari-san! But…why? What's wrong?" Tsuna stammered out.

"Once they bite you, it's all over. You will become one of them."

"HIEEEEE! SERIOUSLY? I DON'T WANT TO BECOME A ZOMBIE!" Tsuna cried while grabbing his hair.

"Look, you aren't a zombie yet. Maybe we could use this time and find the answer to everything."

Looking up, Tsuna realised that he would be facing a death that was not going to go away, and perhaps the answer could lead to a cure. And if he found a cure, then he would stay alive. Going off to join Hibari, he remembered that he was about to tell him something.

"Um…Hibari-san? I was going to tell you something."

"Oh, right. What is it?"

"Well…I remember this explosion coming out from a research building, and some of that green gas coming out. Do you think…?"

"Yes. It could very well be the type of gas that turned everyone like this. We have to stop them from becoming zombies before its too late."

"R-right."

Tsuna followed Hibari to the research building that he was talking about earlier, feeling very awkward since he was probably going to die a horrible death anyway, and that Hibari probably wouldn't care. Stepping up the stairs and through the glass doors of the building, Tsuna looked around. _This place reminds me of a hospital. I wonder what goes on here…_Once Tsuna realised that he was alone and Hibari was still standing outside, Tsuna raced to join him. Hibari was looking for the floor where the explosion took place, squinting as he did so. Once his eyes were fixed on the blasted window, he counted the floors and began to race into the building. _The 38__th__ floor, huh? _Hibari felt Tsuna tapping his back.

"Um…Hibari-san? Could we take the elevator over there? I can't possible climb all those stairs like you can…" Tsuna said while showing a weak smile.

"Alright, but it looks like the elevator has been tampered by the zombies. Do you still prefer to go up an unstable elevator and fall to your doom?"

"Um…the stairs it is."

Smirking, Hibari began leaping up the stairs with surprising agile grace. Tsuna followed up, huffing and trying to catch up.

"H-Hibari-san…I-need-to-tell-you-something." Tsuna gasped out.

"Hn? What?"

"Once-I-become-a-zombie…go-ahead-and-smash-my-head-in."

_…For such a request to come up from that herbivore…I wonder…if he'll take the pain like a man._ They carried on running, Hibari barely breaking a sweat, and Tsuna panting his lungs away. Once they reached floor 19, Tsuna collapsed onto the staircase. He was panting hard, his face was red, and he was sweating quite a lot. _Looks like the herbivore couldn't take it. Guess I'll have to take it to another level. _Without much notice, Hibari picked Tsuna right off his feet.

"U-um…Hibari-san? I'm alright, you can let me down." Tsuna stammered, his face going redder than before.

"No, you can't go on any further." Hibari said; his voice cold as always. He leaned closer to Tsuna's face. "You seem out of breath. And I need you for information. So it has to revert to this method."

When Hibari finished speaking, Tsuna felt a little ashamed and embarrassed. Ashamed, because of the fact that he was so weak, and couldn't manage to go up all those steps. Embarrassed to be held so closely by someone that wasn't his mother. Tsuna wondered for a moment...was his mother alright? Probably not, with all the zombies that was crowding around every building. Tsuna felt sad if his mother didn't survive. Now that he thought about it, Tsuna wondered why none of the zombies were looking in this lab building. Perhaps they all cleared out from the explosion? How could he fend off all of them if it was a surprise attack? _I bet Hibari-san would be strong enough to defeat them all…he's so strong…I wonder how he does it. _Tsuna looked up, and stared at Hibari's face for a while. He didn't seem tired at all.

As they began to reach floor 35, Tsuna felt a surge of pain in his lungs. His breath was cut, and he started coughing violently. Hibari stopped running, sat down on the steps and set Tsuna's head on his lap.

"Feeling better?" Hibari whispered.

"Y-yes, I thi-" Tsuna stopped talking as another coughing fit came.

Once the coughing stopped, Hibari waited for a few seconds for Tsuna to breathe in some more air before he set off again. Tsuna felt a little woozy, and he wished that he could feel better. _I wonder why Hibari-san is being so nice to me. It doesn't look like he will hurt me ever since he rescued me from those zombies…I kind of like being around him now. It looks like he would protect me from everything._ Smiling once in a long time, Tsuna snuggled into Hibari's shirt.

"Don't fall asleep, herbivore, we're almost there." Tsuna jerked backward and nearly fell out of Hibari's arms from the sound of that stern voice.

Tsuna felt himself being tilted as Hibari let him down, and they walked towards the dark corridor ahead of them. Near the end of the corridor, Tsuna saw a lab room, lit by the dim glow of the moon. Hibari walked over to one of the tables, where a rack of test tubes filled with chemicals sat. There were also some written notes, full of formulas and complex equations. Picking up a test tube with yellow green liquid, he raised his hand up to the light for a better look. _This could be the chemical that changed all those people._ Spying a little bit of green powder the same color as that chemical, Hibari took a tissue from his pocket and swiped the tissue across the dust. Studying the dust that was left on the tissue, Hibari decided to drop some of it into the liquid. Suddenly, the tube started fizzing, and gas started spreading out. Hibari's eyes widened and covered his mouth and nose with the collar of his shirt, and ran across to Tsuna who was still looking around the lab with awe. Tsuna noticed that Hibari was running towards him, and without warning, Hibari grabbed Tsuna's head and firmly grasped it upon his chest.

Tsuna's eyes widened in shock, he thought Hibari was hugging him. He started to say something, but his voice was muffled in Hibari's shirt. Once Hibari let go, Tsuna immediately cried out, a small shade of pink dusted on his cheeks.

"H-Hibari-san! What was that for?"

Seeing that Tsuna didn't realize he was saved, Hibari turned his mouth to a frown.

"Gas."

"G-gas?" Tsuna repeated.

"Gas." Hibari firmly said as he pointed to the desk.

"O-oh. Thank you for thinking of me…" Tsuna looked away and scratched the back of his head in their awkward silence. Hibari didn't say anything, and continued examining the place. In one hidden corner of the huge room, Hibari saw what looked like some kind of tomb? Shrine? He wasn't really sure. There was a book placed on a large cross shaped rock. Next to the book was a necklace, with a similar cross pendant. _This looks like a religious shrine…but I wonder if there's a hidden secret in here._ Hibari examined the stone cross for a while, and found that it was more of a coffin. Deciding not to open it, he picked up the book and skimmed through instead. He got to a page where he saw a picture of some people in the streets, and dirt everywhere. The next page he flipped to had a picture of some…sick people? Zombies. They were roaming the streets…just like the ones earlier were. Hibari had some trouble with the English, but he managed to make out a paragraph.

"_And while the sick were left walking, _

_Thou shall attack and feast on other innocent men._

_The disease, which has turned all pure spirits into the living dead,_

_Thou shall perish and rise again."_

Hibari's eyes widened. _Zombies first spread out in old England, eh? Well I wonder how the whole country is not over-populated with zombies by now. They must have found a cure. _Skimming through a few more pages, he found a little scrap of diary entry made by a man who witnessed the zombie apocalypse. Struggling to read again, he focused on the more important looking parts.

"_Today, master came home from his long journey from a foreign country, Japan. Along with him, he brought a rare species of azalea flower, still having an unknown name. Master plans to name it 'rhododendron boninense'. Not sure where he got the name from. Perhaps I'll ask him later on in the day."_

_Rhododendron boninense? I wonder what kind of flower that is. _Hibari carried on reading.

"_Unfortunately the master has come down with the most unusual disease. At some points, he coughs out blood; I really don't know what to do."_

_ The stages of becoming a zombie? _

"_All hell has striked upon us. The master, along with his disease, has become one of the living dead. When I came to tend to his wounds, he looked like he was about to attack me, so I had no better reflex than to grab the newly discovered flower and shove it in his face. The master looked like he choked on a petal, and slowly his grey skin turned back to its normal state! I have made a discovery that could save all of England! But we need more of the flower, what should we do?"_

"_I have a theory. The master thinks that it might work, but it's a risky plan to carry out. Perhaps every other azalea flower could help cure everyone of the disease? We _do _have some honeysuckle in the garden, with my knowledge of botany, I'm quite sure that it is also a species of azalea."_

"_I…have failed. It looks like there can only be one cure. I lay half bitten, with one of my legs severely injured, and now I write one last line to my dying breath."_

"_All hope is lost."_

Hibari gazed upon the page as he read that last sentence. Dazed for a moment, he could see Tsuna by his side. Picking up his body to go over to the boy, he asked:

"By any chance do you know any knowledge of botany?"

"Botany? I don't think-" Tsuna confessed, but stopped in the middle of his last sentence. Hibari didn't seem to be listening. Following his eyes through Hibari's gaze, he set his eyes upon a little white flower, sitting on a small wooden stool. Putting a confused look on his face, Tsuna turned his head back to Hibari. Once his eyes were laid on Hibari, he felt another jolt, but tried to resist the urge to cough.

"Hibari-san, I think it's time for me to leave this world. Just…kill me when I become one of them, will you?" At that point, Tsuna walked over to Hibari, and did something unexpected. He didn't know why he did it, and he probably would get bitten to death, but Tsuna wanted to do it for a long time.

Tsuna hugged Hibari.

For a moment, both the boys were quite speechless. Hibari was shocked at Tsuna's actions, and Tsuna was also shocked by his own actions. _Why? _Hibari thought. _Why did he hug me? Maybe I also…_He thought about raising his arms to hug Tsuna back, but he didn't get the chance. Tsuna began to cough, this time ten times more violently. He coughed out a splatter of blood, and after another few coughs, he spat out some more blood. The last spatter hit Hibari's white shirt as well, staining drops of red on the pure white. Tsuna's vision of Hibari grew blurry; he then closed his eyes, and fell to his un-waking slumber.

The painfully long amount of time that Hibari was in shock was overwhelming. Tsuna was now dead. He would become one of them. And Hibari might be too late to save him. _Unless…that flower…is the rhododendron boninense? _He reached out to grab that flower, but once he touched it, the flower withered away. A look of horror crept upon Hibari's face. _I didn't even examine it properly, what can I do now? I can't exactly go off stuffing the zombie's faces with every flower I see, can I? _While breathing heavily, he heard a moan from behind him. _Tsuna._ Hibari turned around to face his old, useless companion, preparing to smash his head in. Not because Tsuna wanted it, it was for the sake of himself. To carry on and find the cure. Hibari lifted his tonfas. When he was ready to attack, his arms wouldn't move. _Why? Why can't I move? Am I carrying a burden, that needs me to fulfill it in order to be able to kill him? Why?_ Hibari couldn't move as Tsuna slowly advanced and opened his jaws to bite. Suddenly, Hibari felt pain in his shoulder. _It has been a long time since I experienced pain. It's my fault that the world has e__nded like this, all my fault. Now, I only have one thing left to say._

"_All hope is lost."_

* * *

><p><em>Aahh...finally finished...<em>

_sorry I delayed this chapter for so long xD ive been a little busy lately, and at one point i closed it without autosaving OTL_

_I hope you enjoy it at least!_

_(uhh and also, dont over estimate my knowledge of botany xD i...dont have a lot. )_


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